Sahitya Akademi, India’s premier literary institution working under the Ministry of Culture, will organise its annual Festival of Letters at Rabindra Bhavan in New Delhi from 7-12 March.
Union Minister for Culture and Tourism Gajendra Singh Shekhawat will inaugurate the festival. Eminent English Playwright Mahesh Dattani will be the chief guest at the award ceremony in which the prestigious Sahitya Akademi Awards in 23 languages will be presented and eminent Writer and Scholar Upamanyu Chatterjee will deliver this year’s Samvatsar Lecture.
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This is Asia’s largest literature festival with about 700 writers from different parts of the country representing more than 50 languages participating in the event that spans over 100 sessions. The theme of the festival will be Indian Literary Traditions and a National Seminar on the topic featuring eminent thinkers and writers will be organized during the last three days of the festival.
The festival will feature Young Writers, Women Writers, Dalit Writers, Writers from North East, Tribal writers and poets, LGBTQ writers and poets along with many eminent writers, translators, publishers, poets and distinguished personalities from different walks of life and Festival of Letters continue its status as India’s Most Inclusive Literature Festival since 1985.
A day-long programme for children, Spin A Tale, will be organised on the final day of the festival. Throughout the festival, there will be presentations, readings and discussions by eminent authors, poets, translators, publishers and critics on a wide range of subjects.
On three evenings, cultural performances by eminent artists like Rakesh Chaurasia (flute recital), Nalini Joshi (Hindustani Vocal) and Fouzia Dastango and Ritesh Yadav (Dastan-e-Mahabharata) will be organised. The Festival of Letters is open and free for all literary lovers and those who wish to taste the flavour of India’s longest-running Literature Festival.
